How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 71

Living as the Third Son of a Failed Family – Chapter 71

* * *

Several more days passed.

The routine was simple. We continued our aimless journey to find Lordain, setting up camp when night fell.

After that, Luce and Ilia crossed swords with the two elves as if addicted to sparring. I, under the pretext of procuring food, wandered around alone, investigating the place Aphen had mentioned.

However, there were no clear gains. Lordain’s whereabouts and Aslahina’s tomb were all shrouded in mystery.

A place where you can hold the moon in your arms.

Could there be a more perplexing problem in the world?

It didn’t seem to be referring to a mountain. There were no mountains high enough to hold the moon in the Great Forest.

‘Is the moon referring to the moon itself?’

Perhaps something else was being compared to the moon.

Of course, thinking that way didn’t lead to any clear answers. It only became more complicated.

But I couldn’t just stand still, so I wandered around alone, examining the terrain whenever I had the chance. But as expected, it was all in vain. There was nothing particularly noteworthy.

Most places were obscured by towering trees, barely allowing a glimpse of the sky.

It really felt like finding a needle in a haystack.

“You’re back.”

Returning with a deer I had hunted, Luce, who had been swinging his sword while sweating profusely, looked embarrassed.

“It’s my job to do that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You’re not just playing around; you’re training. I can do this much.”

“I’ll take care of the preparation.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

After handing over the deer, I looked around at the group. Ilia, as well as Mirang and Kana, were catching their breath as if they had just finished sparring.

“How is it today?”

“The same as yesterday. A winning streak.”

“Good.”

“But it might not be easy in the future. As we become more familiar with each other, weaknesses will inevitably be exposed.”

Luce, who had never lost a sparring match, licked his lips.

“Just try losing.”

“Of course, I’m not talking about myself. I’m just worried about Ilia.”

“I’m fine, so don’t worry,” Ilia said calmly, wiping away sweat. Her reliable appearance made me smile.

“Well, that’s that.”

I turned my head and called Mirang, who also looked quite tired.

“Did you have something to say?”

“Let’s take a walk for a bit.”

Afterward, I started walking through the forest with Mirang, keeping a good distance from the group.

“What’s going on?”

“I have something to talk about.”

“What kind of talk?”

“I told you before. If our side wins, I’ll give you information without holding back.”

Mirang made a dissatisfied face.

But what could I do? She had promised it herself.

“As I said, I won’t answer sensitive questions.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m not particularly curious about your race.”

“Good. What do you want to ask?”

“The moon.”

“…The moon?”

“Where is the closest place to the moon in the Great Forest?”

Mirang frowned as if to say, ‘What kind of nonsense is that?’

“Did you call me here to joke around?”

“Do you think I’m that free? Anyway, just answer what I’m asking.”

“…”

Mirang narrowed her eyes and stroked her chin before opening her mouth.

“If you’re talking about the closest place, it would be the Elven Tree. It’s the tallest tree in the Great Forest.”

“The Elven Tree?”

She wasn’t wrong. There were no mountain ranges in the Great Forest. But even so, the Elven Tree was a bit…

‘Even if Kerwyn is reckless.’

Could he have possibly built a tomb in the Elves’ sacred ground?

“Anything besides the Elven Tree?”

“I can’t think of anything else.”

There were no other gains after that. Well, the given information was too scarce.

I wondered if I should really search the Elven Tree. Of course, the elves, with their eyes wide open, wouldn’t easily allow it.

After Mirang returned, I sat alone, leaning against a tree trunk. I then unfolded the map and grilled Aphen.

“Besides that moon-this and moon-that nonsense, don’t you have anything else?”

[I don’t know. He just said it was a beautiful place where you can hold the moon in your arms.]

“A poet, I see.”

It was too abstract. It seemed impossible to figure anything out with just that. It would be faster to go back to the mountain range where Kerwyn is and ask him directly.

‘First of all, the moon has to be visible, and since he said it was beautiful, the surrounding scenery must be harmonious too.’

I raised my head and looked around.

The trees towering in all directions densely obscured the sky, offering no charm whatsoever.

Overwhelmed by frustration, I finally sighed and folded the map.

“I don’t know either.”

* * *

It was a journey that started somewhat recklessly, and therefore, it was predictable that there would be as little gain as there was futility.

It had already been over half a month since we had been combing through the Great Forest.

As such, the initially enthusiastic group members were starting to tire one by one.

No matter how strong their bodies were, the Great Forest was not an easy place to completely relieve the fatigue that accumulated like a drizzle.

Just as we were slowly starting to talk less, we were finally able to find a clue.

“Check again. Are you sure?”

Mirang nodded slightly at my question.

“I’m sure.”

“Good.”

What Mirang had found was a memory.

A small memory that was almost forgotten and barely remained.

“The aura of someone with the name Lordain is special, so I can’t help but recognize it. Especially if it’s him.”

Mirang nodded, gently stroking a tree.

“I’m sure. He passed through here.”

“How long ago?”

“About a week.”

A week meant there was a high probability that he wouldn’t be nearby.

“We should find meaning in the fact that we’ve caught a clue.”

As I licked my lips and spoke, Luce approached.

“Then what should we do from now on?”

“Let’s use this place as a base and look around in a circle. Lordain wouldn’t be wandering around aimlessly unless he was doing asceticism [severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons]. Anyway, I think he’ll be in the vicinity.”

“I understand. I’ll look for a suitable dwelling.”

“Lead the group for a while. I’ll look for a water source with the elves.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to do it tomorrow since it’s late?”

“No. We need to save as much time as possible.”

“I understand.”

“If you find a dwelling, make smoke at regular intervals so we can find you.”

“Yes.”

After a simple promise, I called Mirang and Kana.

“You two also split up and look for a water source. If we search in three directions, we’ll find it soon.”

The two elves nodded and disappeared in different directions.

I also slowly moved my steps towards the forest.

Finding a clue to Lordain made me feel somewhat relieved. Perhaps that’s why my steps felt quite light.

But another question still lingered in a corner of my mind.

Where is a beautiful place with a big, bright moon?

Where is Aslahina’s tomb?

Is the power Aslahina used hidden there?

As I sorted through the information swirling chaotically in my head, I walked for a while when it happened.

“Hmm?”

There was a section where the dense thickets suddenly became sparse. It was an unusual terrain. Usually, the same scenery repeated endlessly.

‘Besides, this sound…’

It was small, but I could hear it. It sounded like rustling, but it also felt like small claps.

Anyway, what the sound was pointing to was clear.

Thud!

I lightly kicked off the ground, increased my speed, and moved forward.

How far did I push through the forest? The trees that had been lined up on the left and right gradually began to disappear.

“Oh.”

What appeared before my eyes was a small but clear river.

The sound I had heard earlier was clearly created by the stream colliding with the rocks.

I slowly moved my steps and stood in front of the river.

It was a small scale, closer to a stream than a river, but it was more than enough.

“Clean water, how long has it been?”

The past days of collecting dew to quench my thirst because I couldn’t find a water source came to mind.

It was really shabby. Not even a homeless person. I chuckled and roughly estimated the path I had taken.

I had been walking for about an hour, deep in thought. I hadn’t used any power, so I hadn’t come that far, but it was still quite a distance.

‘It’s too far to use as a water source.’

Still, my throat was parched.

If Mirang and Kana don’t find a better place than here, we’ll have to use this as our main water source.

“Oh my, what am I doing?”

As I squatted down and filled the water bottle, a sigh escaped me.

There were many inconveniences after crossing over to the Midlands, but the most severe was probably this.

In South Korea, water overflowed everywhere you went.

There were mountains of bottled water in convenience stores on the street. Even in parks, there were plenty of water fountains.

It was a world where water gushed out when you turned the lever. On the other hand, nothing is obtained carelessly here. I really miss Earth more than ever at times like this.

“The moon is bright tonight.”

As I squatted down and looked at the moon in the sky for the first time in a while, I started filling the water bag.

“The moon.”

The moon.

A very big and bright moon.

A beautiful place where you can hold such a moon in your arms.

‘Damn it. I don’t have wings, so how am I supposed to hug the moon?’

I was about to let out a bitter smile and lift the bag full of water.

“…”

The moon was reflected in the river.

In an instant, my mind felt like it was shining brightly.

“Could it be?”

Without realizing it, I reached out towards the moon reflected in the river. As my fingers broke through the surface of the water, gentle ripples formed.

Because of that, the appearance of the reflected moon was distorted. But it was clear that this was also holding the moon with my hand.

“If it’s a very big and bright moon.”

This river is not enough.

It has to be a very wide lake to properly reflect the size of the moon. Not just the size of my palm like the one reflected in front of me.

If so.

‘You can hold the moon in your arms.’

The beautiful scenery is also explained.

The moon reflected in a lake in the forest. Could there be a more beautiful sight than that?

The second question that followed.

Is that a place where a tomb could be located?

‘It’s possible.’

Kerwyn is the most powerful wizard in history. Such a wizard could make the impossible possible.

Moreover, the Great Forest is Elven territory. And Aslahina was once an enemy of the Elves.

Such a being’s tomb is right in the Great Forest? It must have already been discovered by the Elves.

But the tomb has not been revealed so far. It probably means it’s located in a place that’s not easily discovered. Why was it difficult to find?

The answer is simple. It must be in the water!

“Map.”

I hurriedly rummaged through my pockets and took out the map.

The map of the Great Forest is all forest, forest, forest.

But there was definitely a place that met the conditions I had thought of earlier.

‘Here.’

As I followed it with my hand, the place I had been thinking of came out. A path that must be passed to get from the Great Forest to the continent.

It wasn’t far from here.

‘If you want to monitor other races even in death, this place would be suitable.’

A huge lake caught on the finger that was scanning the path.

Elven Lake.

This was Aslahina’s tomb.